By Akani Nkuna
President Cyril Ramaphosa is meant to sign the Basic Education Law Amendment Bill (BELA) into law on Friday, but DA leader John Steenhuisen is demanding an urgent meeting, warning that if signed in its current form, it will endanger the spirit of the government of national unity (GNU).
“If he proceeds… he will violate both the letter and spirit of the joint Statement of Intent, that forms the basis of the GNU,” Steenhuisen said on Wednesday.
The Presidency sent out a media alert earlier in the day announcing that he would sign the document at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
The contentious legislation was introduced with the aim of strengthening governance in the country’s education sector. It will result in a number of changes, including making Grade R compulsory and criminalising the act of failing to ensure your child attends school, including possible jail time.
It will also see a total ban on corporal punishment and ensure that school codes of conduct respect all cultures and religions so that students can be exempted from certain sections of the code based on their religious and cultural beliefs.
The Democratic Alliance ActionSA and the Freedom Front Plus all issued statements on Wednesday criticising the decision to go ahead and sign the bill. ActionSA has threatened legal action.
Steenhuisen said: “During the (GNU) negotiations, the DA made it clear that the BELA Bill was unacceptable to us in its current form, because it has constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues. The DA urged President Ramaphosa to send the Bill back to Parliament for a few simple amendments to bring it in line with the Constitution,” he said.
“Despite this, and in violation of the provisions of the Statement of Intent, the president seems intent on pushing ahead unilaterally.”
Steenhuisen has requested to meet Ramaphosa before Friday to re-iterate the DA’s objections in the strongest terms.
“I will also submit to him the simple amendments the DA requires, and urge him to use his powers to send the Bill back to Parliament,” he said.
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